Yemen

Media

Alternative media sources are getting bigger and bigger. People aren’t going to the same big newspapers to get opinions on how to view the world. I get that you’re going to have a fair amount of skepticism about that statement, because alternative news is mostly alt-right. Which is true. This article though speaks of non-profit newspapers and smaller publications that have alternative business models and stay up and running through a combination of factors, which are not related to advertising income.

Yemen

India

On the issue of a right-wing organization asking for Tagore to be removed from NCERT text books. I don’t think anyone can really deny that there has been an obvious attempt to color society and the national narrative a certain way, over the past 3 years. The one thing that surprised me was the fact that the author mentions that the RSS is not a registered organization. That’s literally the first time I’m hearing this. That’s quite a shocker.

Yemen

Yemeni Houthi’s launched a Burkan-2 ballistic missile at an oil refinery in the city of Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia. The Ansar Allah website declared that this was a new phase in the conflict, though details as to what that means are still in the offing.

“The Burkan-2 ballistic missile, which is akin to a Scud, is a relatively new missile design for the Yemeni rebel group. The Burkan-1 was introduced last year with a reported range to hit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, approximately 800km away. Yanbu, however, sits 300km north of Jeddah. This indicates a longer range for the Burkan-2 missile.”

Turkey

Turkey’s EU Minister has said that easing tension between the EU and Turkey is of significant importance. His call for a revival of ties comes as Ankara and Berlin have ramped up their offense against the other.

“Turkey will be represented by Çelik and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the political dialogue meeting, which EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn will also attend.”

The elephant in the room will be Turkey’s anti-terror law and its treatment of human rights activists.

Society

A former Army Captain on Dunkirk and how watching this particular movie and engaging with more cinema that deals with issues that affect soldiers could be significantly important to a generation that is so far removed from the horrors of war as we knew it. With a possible military surge immanent under Trump, she feels that these are questions we need to ask.

Media

Al- Aqsa Agitation

Video that is allagedly from Al- Aqsa mosque. Shows a Israeli officer kicking a Muslim protestor.

United States

A bill that is to be proposed in the United States Congress is all set to sanction Russia for meddling in the 2016 Presidential elections. The article explores what an incredibly difficult position this puts Trump in. What compounds the situation is that he has repeatedly maintained that the meddling did not actually occur. You can’t engage with something that you have maintained does not exist.

Democrats have consistently let down the people of the United States. I get that they are trying to carve out an economic and social space for themselves and stand for something other than opposing Donald Trump, but general statements will only make things worse. Once again, the Democrats seem like a party without a strong message, and a conflicted leadership that is too far removed from middle America.

China

On China and how the Chinese government’s use of soft power could be beneficial in creating an idea of Chinese society in the minds of the world.

“In 2013, Joseph Nye, the originator of the concept of soft power, chastised the Chinese government for relying solely on state-sponsored programs to expand China’s cultural influence. China, Nye wrote, was making “the mistake of thinking that government is the main instrument of soft power,” rather than recognizing that more lasting influence comes from civil society.

On a more irreverent note, the CCTV facebook page is awash with pictures of pandas. They do use the panda well, as something that represents the country. I’m not sure how ethical loaning animals is.

United States

Detroit is using taxpayers money that was initially intended to keep people in their houses to demolish them, in what’s a pretty bad indictment of the general plan here. Detroit rejects almost 80% of those who apply for the Hardest Hit Fund, as opposed to 53% in other states. There’s more to this story.

Kevin Drum points out the influence that the anti-vaccine community has had on the spread of Lyme disease. It involves a seemingly spurious correlation between adult onset arthritis. It was never conclusively proven, and yet the fear alone was enough and the vaccine was withdrawn.

Africa

The Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, has called on Libya and Nigeria to join the agreement to scale back oil production in the wake of falling prices. Russia has agreed to cut their production 300,000 barrels per day as part of the agreement. If the agreed upon levels of oil production are maintained, it could go a long way in helping the Russian economy which has been impacted by the glut of cheap oil in the international market.

Sudan

Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour and the UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan discussed the possibilities of the lifting of US backed sanctions. Sudan was on the track of being free of the sanction while Obama was in office, but that changed when Trump decided to move the deadline for the decision. Al- Bashir remains committed on paper to the talks.

Culture

Yemen

Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Obaid Bin Daghar received an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation at Aden. He stressed that Yemen remains committed to the peace process and that he would continue to exchange Houthi rebel prisoners with the Houthi higher command. The ICRC is midwifing this rather risky process.